This is the first draft for the Common App Prompt #1 (biographical essay). I have written about 450/650 word limit, so I have space to add more information/detail.
"Promise me you'll be someone in life, so you don't have to pass through these hardships" they said, "promise" I always replied. From ages zero to thirteen, I traveled from hospital to hospital, with my parents and brother, in the back of our run-down 99' Ford Windstar.
By the age of six, I was so accustomed to the familiar routine that broke down into three simple steps: A) Hear my father's excruciating cries in the middle of the night. B) Pretend to sleep while my mother carried my brother and I to our van, after snatching us from our bedrooms. C) Cover my ears with my blanket, attempting to muffle my mother's desperate cries as we crossed the border.
From there, the routine would shatter. The hospital location would always differ, but the situation remained the same. At age 34, my father had his first inguinal hernia surgery. A few months later, he had another, and then another, and then another... It was an endless cycle of crossing the border, in hope of finding an inexpensive doctor who could not only repair his strangulated hernia, but who could also ensure that it would never become strangulated again.
My family eventually hit rock-bottom when I was eleven. I didn't notice at first, but I gradually became aware of the different house I seemed to live in. Both my parents were unemployed, my father couldn't walk, and I didn't get play with him at the park. For the next six months, I resided with a mother and father whose depression seized the household.
Despite our infinite struggles, my parents insisted that I do well in school. Being immigrants from Mexico impeded them from being able to read my English homework, but they always made sure it was completed. My parents even drove extra miles in order to ensure that I received the best education possible.
It was during my Junior year, when I thought I would fail them. I hesitated taking all honors classes, specifically in math, since the content seemed rigorous and impossible to understand. Many students dropped out within the first week. Keeping my parents' struggles and hopes in mind, I stayed in the class and spent my afternoons in the tutoring lounge, determined to master the content. By the end of the year, I had received an A on all my tests.
As I look back at the situations I have lived, from watching my father almost die, to not knowing when my next meal was, I never let them become an obstacle in my life. I thank my parents, my true inspirations, for instilling in me the best motto in life: "let your struggles become your motivations".
"Promise me you'll be someone in life, so you don't have to pass through these hardships" they said, "promise" I always replied. From ages zero to thirteen, I traveled from hospital to hospital, with my parents and brother, in the back of our run-down 99' Ford Windstar.
By the age of six, I was so accustomed to the familiar routine that broke down into three simple steps: A) Hear my father's excruciating cries in the middle of the night. B) Pretend to sleep while my mother carried my brother and I to our van, after snatching us from our bedrooms. C) Cover my ears with my blanket, attempting to muffle my mother's desperate cries as we crossed the border.
From there, the routine would shatter. The hospital location would always differ, but the situation remained the same. At age 34, my father had his first inguinal hernia surgery. A few months later, he had another, and then another, and then another... It was an endless cycle of crossing the border, in hope of finding an inexpensive doctor who could not only repair his strangulated hernia, but who could also ensure that it would never become strangulated again.
My family eventually hit rock-bottom when I was eleven. I didn't notice at first, but I gradually became aware of the different house I seemed to live in. Both my parents were unemployed, my father couldn't walk, and I didn't get play with him at the park. For the next six months, I resided with a mother and father whose depression seized the household.
Despite our infinite struggles, my parents insisted that I do well in school. Being immigrants from Mexico impeded them from being able to read my English homework, but they always made sure it was completed. My parents even drove extra miles in order to ensure that I received the best education possible.
It was during my Junior year, when I thought I would fail them. I hesitated taking all honors classes, specifically in math, since the content seemed rigorous and impossible to understand. Many students dropped out within the first week. Keeping my parents' struggles and hopes in mind, I stayed in the class and spent my afternoons in the tutoring lounge, determined to master the content. By the end of the year, I had received an A on all my tests.
As I look back at the situations I have lived, from watching my father almost die, to not knowing when my next meal was, I never let them become an obstacle in my life. I thank my parents, my true inspirations, for instilling in me the best motto in life: "let your struggles become your motivations".